Rick, One wouldn't think it should take two hours for the Blue Jays to beat the Yankees this year. Must have been a lot of commercials. <g>

I'm certainly no expert on advanced techniques and I'm prepared to prove it right here and now. While we're waiting for someone who can actually play the style I've seen the Nashville side men do, I'll try to better explain what I think they're doing.

First, they seem not to be using any pattern. In my experience, patterns are useful as a learning aid for new fingerpickers. They allow one to play nice sounding chord progressions and learn some finger movements at the same time. After finger style has become second nature, one's playing evolves into a bass line and melody rather than a pattern. Patterns, as a way to think about the music, tend to be forgotton. (My experience, anyway.)

The Nashville side men seem to be playing complex flatpicked single-note passages using down-down, up-down, and even up-up pick motions. At the same time, they are throwing in harmony notes, chord fragments, bends and slides by picking up with the occasional right hand finger(s). They seem to do this on a strictly as-needed basis. Perhaps they are really just stringing together well-practiced stock licks where they have carefully choreographed the use of each finger. I can't tell from watching and listening. I suspect the thought process is closer to piano playing than anything else. (It's astonishing how many really good guitar players there are.)

When I fingerpick using a flatpick instead of a thumbpick, I'm really just playing what I always play and just shift the finger assignments. If I'm simulating two-finger (T+I) picking I'll often use just the flatpick and my ring finger for comfort. Keep in mind that I'm not using finger picks and my hand is closer to a fist shape than an arch. (Probably bad form but... what the Hell.) One nice feature of playing this way is that you can play passages that combine flatpicked and fingepicked licks and still get a nice attack for both.

I've never been shown how this stuff should be done, I just noticed people doing it and started messing around. If there is an accepted formal method for all of this stuff, I'd suggest that the student check that out first.

Hope this helped,

      - Mark